News

  Bloomberg After six straight years of annual job gains topping 2 million, America’s labour market is as tight as ever, and it’s entering the next phase: an enduring pickup in wages. Average hourly earnings jumped by 2.9 percent in the 12 months through December, the most since the last recession ended in June 2009, according to the Labor Department’s ...

  Bloomberg The US trade deficit widened to a nine-month high in November as exports fell and companies and governments imported the most since August 2015. The gap grew by 6.8 percent to $45.2 billion from a revised $42.4 billion in the prior month, Commerce Department figures showed. The November shortfall was in line with the Bloomberg survey median for ...

  Bloomberg Apple Inc.’s top executives saw their compensation fall last year while Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook had his biggest payout yet from his record 2011 award. Cook’s five top lieutenants received about $22.8 million each for 2016, according to a proxy statement. The pay packages included $2.8 million in salary and cash bonus, and $20 million in equity ...

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG is close to reaching a multibillion dollar settlement with the Justice Department over its cheating of diesel emissions tests, according to people familiar with the matter, wrapping up the company’s exposure to US authorities in the long-running scandal. The resolution, which could come as soon as next week, would include criminal and civil penalties, said the ...

  Bloomberg France is setting out to entice Tesla Motors Inc., boasting the country’s anti- pollution stance and incentives for consumers to go electric. France’s Economy Minister Michel Sapin is due to tour the company’s production site in Fremont, California, to argue that if Tesla is going to expand, it should do so in France, a ministry spokeswoman said. Sapin ...

  Bloomberg Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co. is considering committing $10 billion to $15 billion to partner with SoftBank Group Corp. and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in a new vehicle to invest in global technology, according to people familiar with the matter. The SoftBank Vision Fund is set to close in January and will be capped at $100 billion, ...

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states are spending nearly US$150 billion a year on education, according to figures released by the GCC Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry. ‘‘There is a need for in-depth study of the challenges facing the delivery of quality education despite the huge funds spent throughout the past decades,’’ ...

  HAMBURG/ WAM The Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC) announced that Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways are among the safest airlines in the world. According to JACDEC’s Airline Safety Ranking 2017 study, airlines based in Asia and the Middle East continued to dominate the list of carriers with the best safety track record in 2016. Emirates and Etihad ...

  DUBAI / WAM The 11th MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Regulatory Summit, to be held in Dubai on February 5 and 6, will discuss key challenges that financial institutions and corporates in the MENA region face in complying with international standards, fighting financial crimes and promoting strong and positive cultures. Thomson Reuters, one of the leading news and ...

  DUBAI / WAM Masar Godolphin, the academic and experiential scholarship programme operating under the patronage of Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, welcomed its inaugural class of future leaders. Places on this prestigious programme were offered to eight outstanding and ambitious young Emirati men and women aged between 23 ...